Trading revenues powered Deutsche Bankâs pre-tax corporate and investment banking profits up more than half to â¬3.5bn ($4.5bn) in the first six months of the year as the German bank shrugged off a double-digit loss from equity proprietary trading in the second quarter.

Profits before tax rose by 53% from €2.3bn in the first half of last year, as net revenues from the corporate and investment banking business climbed a quarter to €10.2bn, outstripping a 17% rise in costs.

The revenue surge more than wiped out losses incurred from trading stocks during the second quarter. The losses came "against a backdrop of corrections in global equity markets", according to Deutsche Bank, whose chief financial officer Anthony Di Iorio said the bank made an equity proprietary trading loss of less than €100m in the three months to June compared with a profit of €400m in the first quarter.

Chief executive Josef Ackermann said: "We proved our ability to deliver in challenging conditions in the second quarter. Despite volatile markets in May and June, Deutsche Bank turned in a quarter which was significantly ahead of the same period in 2005, and as a result, an outstanding first half-year."

Revenues from debt sales and trading soared by almost one-third to €5.2bn and fuelled the first-half profit growth, while equity sales and trading revenues surged almost two-thirds to €2.3bn.

Capital markets origination revenues topped €1bn after a 31% rise as debt business generated €694m in revenues, up from €512m a year ago, and equity revenues rose to €349m from €287m. Advisory revenues climbed 30% to €336m.

Pre-tax profits from corporate and investment banking increased 72% to €1.4bn in the second quarter as revenues at the division grew by €1bn to €4.5bn. Debt sales and trading accounted for more than half of revenues after generating revenues of €2.4bn, up almost half from €1.6bn a year earlier.

Group net profits increased 43% to €2.9bn in the first half of 2006 as revenues grew faster than costs. In the second quarter, profits rose 29% to €1.2bn from €947m a year ago as revenues increased from €5.9bn to €6.8bn.

Shares in the German banking group dropped 2.7% to €87.84 by 11:20 GMT today, from yesterday's close of €90.25.